Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Engraving Text.

Engraving and Embossing Text

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 11, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021


If you've been a Word user for years and years (okay, for decades and decades), you may remember that you used to be able to "engrave" or "emboss" text, just as you can apply italic or bold to the text. Word removed this type of formatting in Word 2010, but there is a very simple way to get it back: Just save the document in the old DOC format.

When you engrave text, it appears to be sunken into the page, with shadowing at the edges. Engraved text is the opposite of embossed text. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Regular, engraved, and embossed text.

Once you've saved your document in the DOC format, you can then follow these steps:

  1. Choose the text you want to engrave or emboss.
  2. Make sure the Home tab of the ribbon is displayed.
  3. Click the small icon at the bottom-right of the Font group. Word displays the Font dialog box.
  4. The Font tab should be displayed, by default. If not, then select the Font tab. (See Figure 2.)
  5. Figure 2. The Font tab of the Font dialog box.

  6. Select either the Engrave or Emboss check box, as desired.
  7. Click on OK.

You can also play with different font colors and background colors to make the engraved text appear different.

If you don't see the Engrave or Emboss check boxes in your Font dialog box (steps 4 and 5), then it simply means you didn't first save your document in the DOC format.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7793) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Engraving Text.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Stubborn Thumbnails

One of the tools that Word provides is to display thumbnails of your document pages at the left side of the program ...

Discover More

Can't Split the Document View

Word allows you to split the screen so that you can view two different parts of the same document. This can come in very ...

Discover More

Adding Serial Commas in a Sentence

Part of the job of an editor is to apply standards of grammar to text written by someone else. One standard that may need ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Underlining Section References Automatically

If you have a document that has some sort of keyword within it (such as "Section") you may want to automatically format ...

Discover More

Changing Existing Highlighting

Need to change the color you previously used to highlight text in your document? You can use Word's Find and Replace tool ...

Discover More

Applying the All Caps Format

Want your text to always appear in uppercase, regardless of how you type it? Word allows you to add formatting to your ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 7 - 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.